There is big buck in domestic BPO

Last year, the deluge on July 26th, was particularly bad for Sitel India. Its office in the suburb of Andheri, was completely submerged. Financial losses not withstanding, all the operations came to a standstill. Yet, Safir Adeni, CEO, Sitel India, mentions that within a few days, the systems were up and running and things were back to normal.

That’s how Sitel’s history has been in India. For the past few years, the company was in doldrums, losing clients, management people, etc. In comes, Adeni, a Dell veteran, and steadies the boat. And now, the company has turned a new leaf, so as to say. The last fiscal was quite good, and Adeni is quite gung-ho about the coming ones.

In an exclusive interview with Shashwat Chaturvedi from CyberMedia News, Adeni talks about how he has bought about a turnaround and how this is just the beginning. Excerpts:

What were the highlights of last fiscal?

There were quite a few. We got new clients, opened new centers, added people, you name it. We have expanded our footprint in India, from a single center in Mumbai, to a total of four. One each in Hyderabad and Chennai and another one in Mumbai. We are also looking at other processes for revenue generation.

Are you looking at other cities as well?

Yes, we have evaluated close to sixteen different cities in India and should whittle down to one in the next few months. Currently, Chandigarh, Goa, Vizag and Kochi are a front-runner for the slot.

What is your voice-data ratio?

Currently, voice accounts for around 70 per cent of our revenues. It remains our bread & butter so as to say. We are actively trying to bring it down.

What were the major clients wins?

We bagged close to seven new clients in the last year and have a total of around 13-14 clients. Dell, Bell Canada, Siemens, etc., are our major clients. Currently, we have two deals in the $5-6 million bracket. And many more that could scale up with time.

What are the other sectors you are looking at?

We are very keen on the knowledge process outsourcing or KPO segment. We have a few projects in the engineering and design space, working in the chip design and support function. There are around 50 people working in our Mumbai office. I am quite optimistic about the potential of KPO in India. After all, KPO is high margin, low volume game.

Are you also looking at domestic market?

Indeed we are. We are currently testing waters and have a great client Tata AIG Insurance. The domestic market is also maturing now, and clients are demanding world-class services and are ready to pay as well. We are at a natural advantage due to our exposure to international markets. Thus, domestic BPO could be a big thing in the coming days.

© CyberMedia News